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Lobbying to Save NAFTA Proving Effective

18 May 2017

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CANADA - The Vice President of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute says lobbying efforts from both within the United States and from Canada and Mexico to salvage the North American Free Trade Agreement are showing results, Bruce Cochrane writes.

Since the election of US President Donald Trump the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement has been in question.

Colin Robertson, the Vice President and a Fellow with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, observes trade is important to the United States, especially to US agriculture.

Colin Robertson-Canadian Global Affairs Institute

There was a faction within the White House, probably led by Mr Bannon and involving Peter Navarro who now heads his Trade and Industry Office in the White House, was encouraging the President to rescind the North American Free Trade Agreement but there was pushback from within the White House.

As within any administration there are various factions, led by probably Mr Cohn and Jared Kushner his son in law.

When word got out that this plan was to rescind the NAFTA, it was leaked up on Capitol Hill where the reaction was quite negative on both sides of the aisle.

Both Democrats and Republicans, Republicans like John McCain who chairs the important Armed Services Committee and most importantly within the farm community in what we would call Trump states, those states in the Midwest that voted for Mr Trump.

Ohio, Iowa Wisconsin, they pushed back and said no, don't rescind the NAFTA because it's working for us.

The agriculture community has responded to word that the NAFTA might be ending and this will play out.

This is not something that will be settled today.

This is like a moving picture.

We're never sure on any day where things is going.

The Canadian and Mexican efforts to point out that trade works well not just for Mexico and Canada but for the United States, I think, is starting to show some result.

Mr Robertson remains optimistic.

He notes Canadian efforts to remind the Americans of how much trade with Canada matters to the United States have had an impact.